Belly of Fire

by Shafinaaz Hassim, Lubna Nadvi, Nazia Peer

‘Not only is your story worth telling, but it can be told in words so painstakingly eloquent that it becomes a song.’ – Gloria NaylorWe often configure our lives with a fine veneer of glossing over the facts. Truth, as they say, is stranger than fiction. We’re obsessed with glorifying our telling of the truth, and in so doing, the presentation of ourselves. In this way, there is to be found more truth in fiction. Fiction becomes the perfect vehicle for exploring the nitty-gritty narratives that swirl around us, especially in an effort to make sense of the spaces within which we might find ourselves trapped, disillusioned, powerless or having found a glint of opportunity.Belly of Fire is a metaphor for the anxiety and fear that we hold within ourselves; the voices of those who are disempowered by racism, poverty, war and gendered abuse, voices that remain silenced, are housed as fire in our bellies.The stories in this collection grapple with real, everyday issues that face ordinary people. The poetry interspersed between them reveals emotions that arise from dealing with these issues, reflecting on them, using them to rebel or act out against the pressures that try to silence us.The seven reflective, compelling stories intertwined with no fewer than twelve contemporary poems that bring out the essence of the themes developed in the narratives.Some stories may be inspired by or are reflective of personal and shared histories; the reading and re-reading of these narratives validate the reflective opportunities and learning that life presents to us as individuals.Telling stories is a celebration and a contribution to the collective consciousness of human beings. This is what both the WordFire Press Workshops and this anthology, Belly of Fire, set out to do.

136 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2012

About the author

SHAFINAAZ HASSIM is an award-winning South African author of nineteen books.

In 2014, she was listed by UNESCO as one of the top 39 writers in Africa under the age of 40.

Hassim presents a popular book review show called BookBytes, show-casing cutting-edge writing from local and international authors.

She was the recipient of the Minara Professional Achiever Award in 2023.

She is also the Curator of the Time of the Writer Festival hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts at UKZN, which is a premium literary event held annually over the last thirty years in the UNESCO City of Literature, Durban, South Africa.

Reviews

[Belinda Mfalapitsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Belly of Fire was an amazing anthology accompanied by beautiful poems in between that described each story in it's own special way. The topics touched were racism, inequality, rape, social injustices, poverty and gender based Violence.
I loved how each story created a clear picture that draws you in and allows the reader to own each and every moment, emotion and feeling of the characters.
Shafinaaz Hassim compiled a beautiful piece of work, that everyone should have in their collection.